The Mote in God's Eye
by morbiusgreen
Summary: Wanna know why a slider never joined the S.O.S. Brigade? Well, in reality, one did, but he was from our universe. And was a fan of the anime. And turned out to be me! Originally titled "Alternate Universe of Haruhi Suzumiya". AU.
1. Haruhi's Slider

_Okay. That settles it. I have completely gone crazy here. I'm seeing things. Yea, that's it. Too much anime has finally taken its toll. There's no way that what I'm seeing is real._

Those were the first thoughts in my mind after the strange girl told me her name. She had a very appealing figure, Her eyes were a beautiful brown that matched her naturally light brown hair.

She was wearing regular clothes, which, to me, looked all too familiar.

Okay, it you haven't already guessed who I'm talking about, then I guess I'll tell you. It was Mikuru Asahina, or at least someone claiming to be her. She did act very much like the one I knew from the anime and her voice sounded hauntingly similar to the English dub version. I really didn't know why, but at least I can understand her.

Okay, let me back up for a second. Let me explain what happened. According to my watch, it was nineteen hours ago that what I've rapidly called the "Incident" occurred.

I had been walking home from school, since my parents didn't care enough about me to actually pick me up. It was late, and it was raining hard on top of it. I had just reached a steep downwards hill and was nearing an intersection. I had been thinking about how boring my life in general was and how I wished to escape it when I saw a strange light come out of nowhere. I walked up to the light.

What I saw nearly made me have a heart attack. There, in the middle of the road, was what could only be described as some sort of vortex. It looked like a wormhole or some sort. It was spinning and giving off a purple light.

For some strange reason, my legs decided to move forward of their own accord. Panicking, I tried to reverse my forward movement but was unable to. Finally, I had reached the spinning mass.

And entered it.

The next moment I found myself sprawled out on a sidewalk. I stood and looked around. I had somehow found myself in a city. It was sunny. The sun was high in the sky, so it was either late morning or early afternoon. I turned back. Thankfully, I could still see the vortex hovering in the center of the sidewalk.

Suddenly, I heard someone shouting, "Look out!" I turned forward, and saw a bicycle coming towards me. A young teenage boy was biking towards me at high speeds.

I tried to move, but somehow, I couldn't.

We collided and I flew backwards. Unfortunately, my head came into contact with something hard, (I found out later that it was a pole) and then, darkness. Silence.

The next thing I remembered was waking up in a bed. Due to the bareness of the room, I guessed it was a hospital bedroom.

I was wrong. A Japanese girl walked in, carrying some food. At first I nearly laughed. She looked exactly like Mikuru Asahina from _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_.

I thanked her for the meal, and then asked if she was okay. Her reply and voice reminded me of Mikuru as well.

Suddenly I remembered what had happened earlier that day. Not really wanting to know the answer and at the same time desperately hoping for the answer I wanted, I asked her what her name was.

Her reply was simple.

"My name's Mikuru Asahina."

That's when I started to panic a bit.

She left the room without another word. I was still too stunned.

That's when I felt the pain return. I reached back and felt a bandage covering the back of my head. When I pressed on it, I heard a sick squishing sound. When I brought my hand back, my hand was covered in blood.

I began to panic even more. I threw my covers off, only to discover that I wasn't wearing any clothes. I looked around. My clothes were hanging up on a chair near the door. They were surprisingly dry. After I cleaned the blood off my hand and bandage, I quickly got dressed and ran out, grabbing my laptop bag and slinging it over my shoulder before I did.

"He's awake!" I heard a girl say in a hyperactive voice. The voice sounded hauntingly familiar to the English dub version of Haruhi Suzumiya. She suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway. Behind her, I saw someone who looked like Kyon. In fact, it was that same young man who had hit me earlier.

I stopped, my mind and heart racing. I began to back up slowly, getting ready to make a run for it if necessary.

I felt someone place a gentle hand on my shoulder. I wrenched out of the grasp. "It's all right," the gentle voice of the girl from earlier said. "We're not going to hurt you."

At that moment the pain returned stronger than ever. I grabbed the back of my head and clenched my teeth, trying not to scream. I fell to my knees. The Mikuru look-alike ran up and grabbed me before I fell forward.

"His head injury is bleeding through the bandages! Can someone grab my first aid kit?" I heard the distant voice of the Mikuru look-alike shout in what sounded like desperation. I felt myself being rocked gently back and forth.

"…Cold…" I heard my voice shiver. I felt gentle arms wrapping themselves around me.

"Here's some bandages, Mikuru!" the hyperactive voice from earlier returned. I felt them removing the bandage and placing another on.

"By the way, Mikuru, where did you learn to become a nurse?" the same girl asked.

"Classifi-uh, I mean, in a class," the gentle voice of the Mikuru look-alike replied. "Could you hand me that syringe?"

A few moments later the pain was gone. My eyes shot open quickly and I sat up.

"Ooof," I said as I was helped up by the Mikuru look-alike. Unfortunately it was too fast and I felt myself become dizzy.

"Careful," I heard a male voice (it sounded like Itsuki) "he looks like he's going to faint again."

Despite the situation, I replied, "I believe the term you're looking for is 'lose consciousness,' thank you very much."

"Of course," the voice replied.

In a few moments, the dizzy spell passed. I had somehow been moved into another room, only this one looked familiar. It resembled the living room of Yuki Nagato's apartment.

_Wait, a second_, I thought. _Where's-_

Before I could complete my thought, another girl entered the room. She resembled Yuki Nagato perfectly, even with the glasses.

"Hang on a second," I said, collapsing into a couch, "I need to collect my thoughts."

"Sure," I heard the Mikuru look-alike say.

I inhaled deeply and began to think. About what had just happened.

If my suspicions were correct, then this is what had happened: I had become that elusive slider that Haruhi had been searching for. I had somehow slid into Haruhi's universe through that vortex or whatever it was. It must have been early in the history of the S.O.S. Brigade because the clothes Mikuru was wearing reminded me of the ones she had worn on the Brigade's first Saturday outing where she had told Kyon who she really was, and also because Yuki still had glasses.

I then realized what a perfect opportunity I had been given. Even if this wasn't the real Haruhi universe, I could still change the lives of everyone here for the better, given what I knew.

However, I had to come up with a cover story. Being a master of storytelling, I began formulating one.

"Sorry for freaking out on everyone, but waking up in a strange bed and being served by someone I don't know can be a bit frightening. Plus the fact that I have a head injury to boot."

"It's alright," the Haruhi look-alike (no, it _was_ Haruhi) replied. "What's your name?"

I figured that there was no harm in giving my real name, so I did. "Jon Wunn Cancian."

"Where are you from?" Haruhi asked again.

"A small town in Central Oregon called Darrows." More of the truth couldn't hurt.

"Oregon? You're from the United States?"

I nodded. "You're wondering what I'm doing here, in Japan, right?"

"Well, yes," Haruhi said, "and where did you learn to speak Japanese?"

I smiled. Here was where the lies came in. "I'm here as an exchange student. I took a few years of Japanese and was apparently the best in my class. I was on my way to the house where I was going to be staying when I had my little accident."

"Yea, sorry about that," I heard Kyon say. Again, his voice sounded like the English dub.

I waved my hand. "Don't worry about it. I should have moved, but I was frozen."

"If you had moved, you would have collided with the truck that passed," Yuki finally spoke up.

I turned to her, confused. "How do you know?"

"I was watching through the window when the collision appeared."

_So much for keeping my secret from her, although she was the only one I was going to tell anyway, since I need her help in establishing myself at North High. Wait, maybe she didn't see me come from my universe. Highly unlikely._

"Wow, I guess I am lucky. So wait, this is your house?"

Yuki just nodded at me. I got a feeling that she knew more about me than she was letting on.

"Okay. I know that this may seem strange, but can I stay here for the night? I don't want to move around that much. Plus, the airport lost my luggage, which really sucks."

"You may stay."

I was extremely grateful to her for that. I continued.

"Okay, well, you know who I am, but who are you all?"

"Huh? Oh of course, where are my manners?" Haruhi exclaimed

"Manners, you? Yeah, right," I heard Kyon mutter quietly.

"My name is Haruhi Suzumiya, and I'm the leader of the S.O.S. Brigade. This is Itsuki Koizumi, Mikuru Asahina, Yuki Nagato, and Kyon, all members of the Brigade." As she said their names, she pointed to the individual.

"Pleasure to meet you, and thanks for tending to my wounds, Mikuru."

"My pleasure," Mikuru replied with a sweet smile.

"S.O.S. Brigade, huh?" I continued. "Sounds like some sort of military rescue unit, and you guys look too young for military service."

"The S.O.S. stands for 'Spreading Excitement all Over the World with Haruhi Suzumiya.' Our sole purpose is to find aliens, time travelers, sliders and espers."

"Really? So you're a club then. What do you do?"

Haruhi became instantly frustrated. "Didn't you hear what I just said? We look for aliens, time travelers, sliders and espers."

"Ooh, I see." I leaned back and made it look like I was thinking hard about it. "Actually, I'm very interested in the science of the universe, natural and supernatural, and I've written those things in my science journal. I will admit, it does sound like an interesting and fun idea, your club, or Brigade, as you call it."

Haruhi's frustration quickly turned into excitement again. "Really? You write a science journal? Do you hear that, Kyon? We found our sixth member, the scientistrecluse!"

That threw me for a loop. "Wait…what…? Hey!"

"You're the newest member of the S.O.S. Brigade! Okay, everyone, since we missed today's search, we'll do it next week. Be there, or it's a penalty for you. Dismissed!" And with weird statement, she grabbed her purse and ran out the door.

I acted speechless. "What just happened?"

Kyon sat down next to me and sighed. "You just became a member of Haruhi's nonsensical club. Well, see you at the club meeting on Monday. I gotta go."

"As do I," Itsuki said.

"Should I stay then and take care of you then?" Mikuru asked me.

"No, it's fine, really. I'm feeling better, and I can take care of anything that comes up."

"Alright then. See you on Monday." And with that, she gave me one of her cute smiles and left.

Soon it was just me and Yuki.

My demeanor changed as five minutes after I saw that no other member of the Brigade was in sight. Yuki was still staring at me. I sat down and matched her glare for a while.

"You saw more than just the collision, didn't you?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

A nod.

"Then you are aware that my story was a complete lie."

Another nod.

"Then answer me this: are you going to tell anyone else? Not that I can stop a Humanoid Interface like yourself, but I must know."

"I will not alert anyone to your true nature," Yuki replied. "And I have rewritten special data so that your story is true. You will be staying in this apartment."

She had read my mind.

"Since you saw how I arrived, you are aware of what I am. If so, please tell me, because I am still unsure."

"A slider."

I sighed. "I guess that settles it. I am Haruhi's Slider."

* * *

><p><strong>EDIT: Changed the character's name and backstory. And his age.<strong>

**morbiusgreen**


	2. The Mote in God's Eye

Sunday came and went. I basically went out to get school supplies. After I got home I decided to brush up on my Haruhi Suzumiya "history." If I was right, I had appeared during Episode 3 on the Saturday that the SOS Brigade was supposed to meet for their first citywide search. Unfortunately for them, I had interrupted their search, so Mikuru didn't have a chance to tell Kyon who she was. She might have told him at a different time, like later that Saturday or on Sunday. Skipping to another episode, I realized that Asakura was about to make her move on Kyon. I began to plan to stop her.

On Monday I set my alarm to go off at five AM, which it did, giving me a near heart attack in the process as it usually did. Yuki had provided a North High uniform for me. As I expected, it fit perfectly. It was also more comfortable than I expected.

When I walked out into the living room, I saw Yuki sitting down, reading.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked as I prepared my schoolbag. She held up the book. The Japanese writing on it simply transformed into English lettering _Ringworld_, by Larry Niven.

_Weird_, I thought. Apparently the ability to read other languages was a part of my slider abilities. In fact, it reminded me of a book series, _The Pendragon Adventures_, and how the main character was able to understand any language in any of the words he traveled to.

I sat down on the couch. "Yuki, when do you leave for school?" I asked.

"Do you wish to depart now?" she asked in return.

"N-no, I just wondered when you usually left."

"I leave in an hour," she replied, then went back to reading her book.

I had one more thing to say, though. "Yuki, one last thing."

She looked back at me. It might have been my imagination, but it seemed like she was getting a bit annoyed.

"Don't tell anyone that I'm living with you."

Her annoyance changed to confusion. "Why?"

I sighed. "Because I don't plan on revealing what I really am to anybody but you, and if anyone in the Brigade knew we lived together, they might get suspicious."

She now had given her complete attention to me. I could almost see her mind working overtime.

"Do you not trust the rest of the members? If so, then you have been hiding something from me as well, because you must know a lot about them if you instantly distrust them. Also, you knew what I was yesterday."

I inhaled and nodded slowly. "Yes I have kept something from you, and, since I want you to trust me, I will tell you how I can distrust the others after we get home later today. Trust me; I have good reasons to keep my secret from Kyon and the Brigade," I said, putting special emphasis on Kyon.

She nodded. "Very well," and went back to her book.

I plugged my ear buds into my ears, turned on some music and waited.

I nearly waited too long. When I next opened my eyes I saw Yuki picking up her bags. I stood quickly to grab my bags and nearly lost consciousness.

I was able to recover quickly, however, and soon I found myself walking side by side with Yuki.

While we were walking something occurred to me. "Hey, Yuki?"

"What?"

"You are aware, I'm sure, that Mikuru Asahina was supposed to tell Kyon that she's a time traveler on Saturday, right?"

"Of course."

"And since she probably didn't get a chance to say anything on Saturday, did she talk to Kyon yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The rest of the walk was in silence. When we got to the school there was barely anyone there, so I felt pretty safe arriving with Yuki.

"Um, Yuki?" I began as we entered the building, "I know you manipulated special data to allow me to go here, but where is the classroom I'm supposed to be in."

Without missing a beat, she said, "Follow me," and soon I found myself in a classroom.

"There," she said, pointed to a chair near the back corner. It was reminiscent of where Haruhi sat in her classroom. I walked over and hung my bag on the little hanger.

To my great surprise, Yuki took the desk in front of me.

"Yuki, is this where you usually sit?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

Classes came and went. The day got humid very quickly. I expected that, however. I introduced myself as a transfer student from the U.S. The day was pretty boring.

I did, however, figure out how Yuki managed to get to the clubroom before everyone else. Our last teacher always ended class early because she had an appointment.

As we were packing up, Yuki came over to where I was and waited while I packed everything up.

"Follow me," she said as soon as I was ready. I memorized the route it took to get from our classroom to the clubroom. As I expected, no one was there. She picked up a book and began to read.

Since I had forgotten to bring my laptop with me, I went to the bookshelf to pick out something to read. As I was browsing and waiting for the titles to translate, a particular book title caught my attention.

_The Mote in God's Eye_, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I read the description and, being a fan of Larry Niven and finding the description interesting, I grabbed a chair, sat a few feet next to where Yuki was and began to read.

About thirty minutes later, I heard the door open, but didn't acknowledge it. I was deeply engrossed in the book. I heard a chair being pulled back, and someone sat down. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that it was Itsuki.

I then remembered that in the original anime today was when he was supposed to tell Kyon what he was.

I was right. I heard Kyon enter the room a few minutes later and say, "Koizumi, don't you also have something you want to talk to me about regarding Suzumiya?"

I heard Itsuki chuckle slightly. He got up and walked out.

For a good long while it was just me and Yuki. Another twenty or so minutes I heard the door open.

"Oh hey Cancian!"

I looked up. It was Mikuru. I waved my hand and replied, "Hey. You know, I'm not used to people calling me by my last name. I like it."

"Oh, uh okay," she answered. I saw her looking nervous. "Feeling better?"

I rubbed the back of my head. I still had a small bandage there. All in all I was feeling much better, and I said so.

"That medicine you gave me really worked. I can barely feel the pain anymore. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied with one of her smiles. She then looked nervous again. I kept seeing her look over. I followed her glance and saw that she was staring at the maid outfit.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Well, you see, I, uh…" she trailed off. She then took a deep breath and said, "I need to get into that outfit and I usually change in here."

"Oh. Oh! Of course," I said. I stood up, grabbed the chair and walked out.

"Just tell me when you're changed, okay?"

She smiled and replied with a "Sure." I walked out, closed the door, set up the chair and continued to read.

Another five or so minutes passed and I heard footsteps coming up. Without looking I knew who it was. I saw him reach for the door.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," I said. "Mikuru's changing into a maid costume."

"Oh, thanks." Yep. It was him. He slid down against the wall across from me and sat there.

"What about you?" Kyon asked. Trying to look confused, I looked up.

"Huh? What about me?"

"Don't you have anything to tell me about Suzumiya?"

"Haruhi? No. why would I? I hardly know her. The only thing I know about her is that she's the weird girl who drafted me into this club. Speaking of her, where is she?"

"I don't know. She was kinda moody all day."

"Hmmm, I see." I put my book down and looked up to face him. "Can you tell me what this S.O.S. Brigade is all about? I asked Yuki on Saturday while I was still recovering, but she wasn't very talkative."

"Yea, well that's Yuki for you. To tell you the truth, I really have no idea what it's about."

"I see," I said, and went back to reading.

"Okay, I'm done changing, Cancian," I heard Mikuru say. I stood, grabbed my chair and walked back in.

"Wow, you look very beautiful in that outfit, Mikuru," I said when I saw her, and I meant it.

She blushed and replied with a quiet "Thank you." I took the spot next to Yuki and continued to read. When Mikuru offered me some tea, I politely refused, saying I didn't drink tea.

"You're the slider, aren't you?" Kyon said, half questioningly, half accusatorily.

I looked up at Kyon. "The what now?"

"You're a Slider," Kyon repeated. "I mean, Nagato's an alien, Ms. Asahina's a time traveler and Koizumi's an esper, so, logically, you're the Slider."

I furled my brows at him. "Kyon, I think the heat is getting to you. You should go see the nurse or something. I'm assuming North High has a nurse."

"Yes, but that's not the point here. The point is that everyone in this Brigade is something supernatural except me. You have to be a Slider."

Getting truly annoyed, I went back to reading, but not before growling. "I'm not a Slider, Kyon."

The room was uncomfortably silent for the rest of the day.

"Thank you for not revealing what I was," I said to Yuki after I came home.

She replied with a simple nod.

I continued. "I told you that I would reveal how I know so much about the Brigade members, and I will tell you later today. But first, I must speak with Ryouko Asakura. Can you take me to her apartment?"

She looked inquisitively at me for a few seconds, and then walked out of the house. I followed.

"Hello there!" A cheery Ryouko answered the door. "Come in Ms. Nagato and friend," she said with a wink directed at me.

"Actually, I just asked Yuki to show me where you lived. I wanted to talk to you about something. Thank you, Yuki. I'll be back later."

She stared at me again with that inquisitive look, but left without another word.

"What was that all about? Who are you?" Ryouko asked as soon as Yuki left.

My demeanor instantly became serious as I replied with, "I am the mote in God's eye."

* * *

><p><strong>EDIT: Changed the character's name and backstory. And his age.<strong>

**morbiusgreen**


	3. Data Apocalypse

Ryouko looked confused. "Huh?"

Without waiting for an invitation, I took a seat.

"I was pretty clear. I am the mote in God's eye. My name isn't important, and I know who and what you are, Interface. You and Yuki Nagato are humanoid interfaces for the Data Integration Thought Entity."

Her smile returned, but now it seemed creepy. She formed a seat across from me and sat down.

"Now, before you kill me, hear me out. I know that you want to elicit a response from Haruhi by taking some sort of action if nothing occurs, am I right?"

Her smile gave me the creeps, but I held my own as she replied, "That is correct, slider, but I haven't come up with suitable action to take."

"Then it is good that I am here," I said, wondering how she knew what I was, "or else the actions that you would take would only end badly for you."

She cocked her head. "Oh?"

"I have a proposition for you," I said. She listened intently as I then outlined the plan I had come up with. The plan was basically to "transfer" out of the school suddenly and without warning.

"I see," she replied. I then saw her stare off into the distance. Her eyes then returned to me. "Your plan does seem to have merit, but then how would I observe Ms. Suzumiya?"

I crossed my legs. "Are you able to change your form and personality so that you can become a whole new person?"

"I can change my physical appearance, but I can't change my personality."

I then explained what she could do. Basically, she was to wait a few months before returning, but as a totally new student. Her smile widened as I explained it.

"But what if this doesn't work?" she asked as I was getting up to leave.

I turned back and smiled. "I know that it'll work."

"How do you know?"

I paused, considering whether I should show her how I knew. In the end I told her that had my sources and left it at that.

Before I left, I said one more thing. "There are others like me out there, you know. We will be watching you, Interface. If you make one false step, we will stop you." I basically said this because I didn't want her to suspect that Yuki could enter her data space. I wanted to believe that she would take my advice, but I also had a gut feeling that she would attack Kyon the next day.

The last look I saw on her face was that of confusion as I walked out. I hoped that I had gotten through to her, but I decided to play it safe and warn Yuki

"Yuki? I'm back," I said after I had knocked on the door. A few seconds later I heard the lock shift and the door opened.

"It's time to show you what I promised," I said as I walked to my room. I grabbed my laptop, which had been charging all day.

While the laptop was warming up, I warned Yuki about Ryouko. Yuki told me that she had been keeping an extra close eye on her subordinate. When I explained what I had done, she didn't react much.

Finally, I was completely logged in. I plugged in my external hard drive which was where I kept my videos, pulled up the first episode of _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suuzumiya_, and let her watch.

She didn't move from that spot for the first two and a half episodes. When she got to the third episode, I watched it with her. When we reached the present, I reached over and stopped the video.

"You'll understand my reluctance to show you anymore past my arrival. After all, even though I'm not in this anime, the history so far has been remarkably similar, and although you have the ability to sync with your future self, I don't wish to give you any more information. When the events come to pass, I will let you see more, but for now, I don't think it wise."

"Understood," Yuki said. She then began to stare at my laptop intensely.

"Yuki…?" I said, curious as to what she was doing.

"This piece of technology is approximately five years more advanced than anything currently employed," she observed as she picked it up.

I leaned over and gently pried her hands off of the laptop. "That's because it is," I replied. "In my original universe it's 2011, whereas here it's only 2006. Please be careful with it, I won't be able to get it fixed if it breaks, as the parts won't come out for another five years."

"Oh," was the only response I got. I began to put away my laptop. Yuki stood, walked to a bookshelf, picked up a book, walked back over to the couch, sat down and began to read.

I, on the other hand, walked straight to my room after packing everything away. My room had been added on to recently, equipped with everything I needed and some of the stuff I wanted: a bed, dresser (complete with clothes) desk with desk lamp, bookshelf, nightstand, television, even my Xbox 360 from my original universe had somehow made its way here, complete with all the games I had collected and all four controllers, not that I ever used them as I had no friends.

I still didn't understand how that happened. Was it Yuki? Part of my slider abilities?

I decided right then and there that I needed to start figuring out how my abilities worked. I would need Yuki's help; because I had a feeling she knew more about the multiverse theory than I did.

I decided that I would start learning and experimenting the next day, that is, of course, if Ryouko didn't try to kill Kyon. After homework and having a quick talk with Yuki about how the apartment complex worked, I went to bed.

Tuesday arrived sooner than I expected. I woke around six ten, got dressed and accomplished all the necessary duties of the morning. Thankfully, Yuki had already left, so I grabbed my book bag, laptop bag and began the thirty minute walk to school.

Five or so minutes before school started I began to feel…something strange. At first I just dismissed it as being tired.

School was just as boring as the day before. All the while the strange feeling was growing until I knew something was wrong. Had I caught some sort of virus?

At one point during the day, right at lunchtime in fact, I had a sudden bout of nausea. I rushed to the nearest bathroom and vomited a little bit, mostly air for the next few minutes.

The nausea returned again after class right as I passed Kyon and Haruhi's classroom. It was then that I began to suspect that it was more than natural causes that were causing this.

My suspicions were confirmed later in the clubroom. It was only me and Yuki in the clubroom. Both of us were reading when there was a knock on the door.

Realizing who it was, I said, "It's okay. Come on in."

Kyon walked through the door. "Yo," he said in his usual nonchalant manner.

"Hey," I replied, looking up briefly and nodding as he entered the room.

He looked at me strangely. "You okay? You don't look so good."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head nervously. "Yea, I'm fine. I've been feeling sick all day, and I can't wait to get home."

"Then why don't you? I mean, it's not like you're bound to the club or anything."

I smiled. "I'm not that sick. Besides, I want to see what this club really is about before I make any decisions on whether to stay or leave."

"Good luck with that," he replied.

I watched as he walked to the window. This was a pivotal moment.

To my horror it happened. After he reached the window and tossed his bag aside he reached into his pocket and brought out a letter.

It was the note from Ryouko, it had to be.

So as to not make him suspicious later, I put on a false grin. "Love note, there, Kyon?"

He glared at me. I just kept my fake grin on as he replied, "No."

I laughed a bit then continued reading. A few moments later, the door burst open, and Haruhi walked through.

"Uh! It's so hot!" she complained as she walked through the room. She walked to the head desk, sat down and leaned back in the chair. Her expression was one of annoyance.

"We definitely need and air conditioner," she said.

I was in agreement with her on that. The room was hot. I watched her lean forward and begin to click on the mouse.

I needed an excuse to walk over to where I could see the screen. I put the book down, stood, stretched and walked over to the window to inhale the air.

"Wait! What the heck's that?" I heard Kyon burst out suddenly. Yep, he'd seen the pictures of Mikuru.

Acting startled, I turned at his outburst. "Everything all right?"

"It most certainly is not!"

I walked up and nearly fell backwards in fake surprise.

"What? They're just pictures. They're totally cute shots of Mikuru," Haruhi explained as she held up the screen to first me and then Kyon.

"Yeah! I see that! What the hell are you doing with these?" Kyon answered, pushing the screen aside.

Haruhi's face became annoyed. "I'm loading them onto the main page of our website. Now we'll get tons of emails about cool weird happenings. Our site will get tens of thousands of hits. The counter'll role so high it'll be nuts." She chuckled under her breath. "Wonder if the counter even goes that high?"

While she had been speaking, Kyon replaced the screen, leaned down, grabbed the mouse and had opened the file with the shots of Mikuru in them. I was leaning in as well, watching with a glare as he did.

Haruhi noticed what Kyon was doing right as he highlighted the pictures. "Wait!"

As soon as she said that, Kyon placed the photos in the Recycle Bin.

"Aw! What are you doing, you idiot?" Haruhi asked in anger.

Before he could reply, I interjected with, "The right thing."

She turned from Kyon to me.

"Those images are not appropriate for someone to be putting up," I continued. "Besides, did you even ask Mikuru? Images of people shouldn't go up on the internet without permission from the people in question or their parents. Do you know how many perverted freaks are out there? What if they saw the pictures, requested a meeting and RAPED you, Mikuru or Yuki? I… Kyon help me out here, would you?" By this time my rage had become real, which helped a great deal.

"He's right, Haruhi," he said. "besides, those photos are pornographic in nature, and we're too young to be posting them. It's against the law, you know."

As Kyon continued, I walked to the window, truly exasperated. I listened to Kyon go on and on. He made some great points.

Finally, I heard Haruhi say, "Hmph. Fine, whatever!"

She walked over to where the desk chair had been pushed to and sat down. I walked over and gave Kyon a friendly pat on the back.

"Good job," I said quietly as I walked back to my seat next to Yuki. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Kyon messed around the computer for a little while longer.

As he was finishing up, Haruhi stood up suddenly, startling Kyon and even me, even though I knew it was coming.

"That's it. I'm going home," she said. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door.

As she opened it, she nearly collided with Mikuru, who looked like she was just about to enter the room.

"Ah! Uh, oh I'm sorry!" she apologized, head lowered. When she saw Haruhi's face, which I'm assuming had a scowl on it, she looked up. Concern lit up in her expression as Haruhi walked off in a huff.

Turning to the clubroom, Mikuru asked, "Did something happen?"

Kyon moved quickly back to the computer. "No, everything's a-okay. An evil conspiracy's just been vanquished."

"In a manner of speaking," I added quietly.

"Huh?" Mikuru asked in a confused voice.

"Never mind," I replied. I stood and said, "You probably want to change into your maid costume, right?"

"If it isn't too much trouble…"

Kyon interjected. "No trouble at all!"

I walked towards the door and exited the room before Kyon. All this time the nausea was building slowly.

"You sure you're all right?" Kyon asked while we waited for Mikuru to change, "You still look unwell."

I sighed. "Yea, I don't feel very well, but it's nothing I can't handle. It'll pass, I hope. By the way, why was Haruhi upset when she walked in?"

"Beats me. That girl's a tough act to follow."

"Ah."

For the rest of the day, Kyon and Mikuru taught me how to play Othello. I mostly watched as Kyon and Mikuru played. I played a couple times, once with each of them. Finally it was five thirty five, the time when club was supposed to end on that particular day.

As I expected, the door opened to reveal Itsuki. He just smiled, waved and told everyone that he needed to leave to go to work.

With that, club was officially over. Yuki closed her book. I went to grab my bag.

"I'm gonna change, so don't wait for me," Mikuru said.

"Okay, see you tomorrow," I replied. Kyon bolted from the room after bowing. I waited for Yuki, and soon we were walking down the hall.

As we approached Kyon's classroom, the wave of nausea suddenly increased and I nearly collapsed. Yuki grabbed me before I could do so.

"You are ill," Yuki stated.

"That's…not…important…" I managed to stammer out. "Ryouko didn't heed to my warning. Kyon is in danger, hurry!"

She nodded and ran to the classroom, dropping her bags as she did. The nausea increased second by second until it was almost unbearable. I struggled to keep from screaming.

Suddenly the nausea stopped. I was feeling perfectly healthy again. I stood and headed for the room.

The door was locked and Yuki was gone. I assumed that meant she had made her way inside. My hypothesis was confirmed shortly.

It must have been my strong desire to enter the room that caused what happened next. I saw the door start to become see through. It dissolved and I was able to see the battle. The moves were precisely the same as before. There was, however, no noise at first.

I then suddenly knew that I could enter the room. Taking a few steps back, I rushed the door.

And entered into a data apocalypse.

* * *

><p><strong>EDIT: Changed the character's name and backstory. And his age.<strong>

**morbiusgreen**


	4. Legacy Of The Slider

The sensation I felt next was almost as if I was pushing through a thin membrane, or a balloon. It made me shiver later when I remembered how it felt.

As I broke through the barrier, the sounds of the battle suddenly became audible. Time slowed, it seemed. I landed in between Yuki and Ryouko. The blue haired demon had just hurled spikes at Kyon.

What happened next I am still not able to explain. Instinctively I raised my hands as the spikes closed in. What appeared to be a tornado sprang from my hands. If I were to describe it, I would say that it looked like a liquid water tornado. The color was a slightly dark gray with a hint of brown. Well, when whatever it was reached the spikes, they flew backwards.

"What…what is this?" Ryouko asked, clearly confused.

There was a strange fog surrounding me. I faced Ryouko.

"Who's there?" she asked again.

I didn't speak. Instead, I rushed forward quicker than I had ever moved before. Somehow, the fog seemed to follow me.

I extended my arm, and as I passed her, I struck her in the face. Clearly caught off guard, she stumbled backwards.

"Who are you?" she asked again, facing me and firing blades again.

Again, I reached up and the watery tornado-like energy whatever it was flew out of my hand. It threw the spikes back, and this time struck Ryouko. She flew backwards again.

I rushed forward again, grabbing the knife that she had dropped and brought it to her neck.

"We warned you," I hissed. "But you didn't listen. Now you will pay the price."

"Slider," she said, her smile returned. In an instant, I found myself with the same knife to my neck.

"I don't know how you got in here, Slider, but I control this space. You are going to die." With a kick, she sent me flying, the fog following me. I landed hard on the ground next to where Kyon and Yuki were.

"You're a Slider?" I heard Kyon ask.

"No time to explain now, Kyon. Yuki, are you finished yet?"

She looked at me. "I am nearly complete."

"How much time do you need?" I asked.

"Fifteen more seconds."

"You got it." I stood and faced Ryouko again.

"You have no control here, Slider," she said pleasantly. "For interfering with this operation, you will die as well."

"Dream on," I said with a chuckle as I rushed forward again. This time, however, she was ready for my attack and placed a shield up. I was deflected and thrown back again.

Something tore through my left shoulder, causing an immense amount of pain. Ignoring it, I stood and extended my hand. Instead of before, green bolts of lightning shot out and struck the shield. One actually passed through and struck her square in the chest. She flew backwards

I laughed. "It's over," I said.

"What's over? Do you mean the lives of everyone here?"

"No," Yuki said, suddenly beside us. "Commence termination of data link."

Ryouko's smile disappeared as she began to dissolve. "It…it can't be."

I reached down and once again grabbed the knife she had dropped. I then walked over to where Kyon was kneeling. Thankfully, the unknown fog still followed me.

Yuki, who had not been injured during this fight, turned to the rouge interface and said, "You were an advanced Interface. That is why it took so long to hack into this time-space program. But it's over now."

Ruouko smiled slightly. "You modified your program with a detonation element didn't you? I thought you seemed weak, but that explains it. That's the reason you used all your attack data when you started to fight." She laughed dryly, and then continued. "This is a shame. I guess I really was just a backup Interface. I thought this was my big chance to get something to finally happen around here."

She looked over at Kyon, who flinched at the glance. She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and said, "I guess I lost. Aren't you happy you get to keep living? But please be careful though. The Data Integration Thought Entity has more Interfaces that are just like me. Someday, you might meet another Interface that also seeks radical change. Or perhaps the one pulling Nagato's strings will change his mind."

"And we will be waiting for them," I said.

Ryouko looked at me and smiled. "I'm sure you and your people will be. But until then enjoy your life with Ms. Suzumiya. Goodbye!" She giggled as her face dissolved into white sparkles.

The area became silent. Yuki was standing in front of Kyon looking at nothing, while Kyon was clutching sand in his hand like his life depended on it.

"Who are you?" He asked, finally looking up at me. I could see that he was trying to identify me through the fog.

I debated what I should say. After a few seconds, I came up with what to do.

I walked over to Yuki, enveloping her in the fog. I nodded to her. Suddenly, as I expected, there was a huge noise coming from all around us. Dust and dirt flew up as the data in the room was rearranged by Yuki.

While she was finishing that, I turned to the totally confused Kyon and replied, "A friend."

Suddenly we were back in Yuki's apartment. The fog disappeared, and soon it was just me and Yuki.

My shoulder suddenly began to hurt again, and I remembered that Ryouko had injured me there.

Yuki looked over at me. "You are injured." Before I had a chance to reply, she extended her hand and began to speak in that weird language. Instantly, the pain vanished and the jacket began to rearrange itself.

"Thank you, Yuki," I said after she was finished. I then noticed that she was feeling her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, even though I knew what the answer was.

"I forgot to recreate the glasses."

I smiled. "I actually think you look better without them. I don't think anyone in the Brigade has a glasses fetish anyway."

"What is a glasses fetish?"

I smiled. "Look up the word fetish online and you'll see."

She looked over at me with that cold and calculating expression she always wore. "I see."

Not another word was said for the remainder of that night.

The next day Ryouko Asakura didn't show up for class. Word spread around the school that she had been transferred suddenly. Haruhi cancelled the scheduled meeting so that she could investigate what had happened. As I knew she would, she pulled Kyon into the investigation.

Earlier that day, Yuki went out for groceries. I went along to help, completely forgetting what would happen later. As we were walking up to the building, I saw Haruhi walk out of the front door. Followed a few seconds later by Kyon.

_Oh crap! _I thought_. I completely forgot about this. What should I do? I really wish I was invisible right now!_

Suddenly something strange happened. My vision somehow changed. It became more monochrome, as if the world had lost half of its color. It also darkened a bit. I wondered to myself if I had entered a Closed Space, but when I looked at where the others should be, I could still see them.

"Yuki?" Haruhi asked when she saw her.

_Wait, why hadn't she said my name?_ I looked at my hands. _And I could see right through them!_ I had become invisible. Only Yuki seemed to be aware of my presence.

"I had no idea you lived in this building, what a coincidence," Haruhi said as we came up to them.

I saw Kyon roll his eyes at that. He and I both knew it wasn't a coincidence.

"Have you heard anything about what happened to Asakura? You know she transferred out toda, right?" Yuki shook her head at that.

"I see," Haruhi said, "well if you find anything out, let me know. You got it?" A nod from Yuki.

Haruhi tilted her head slightly and asked, "What happened to your glasses?"

At this point, Yuki looked over straight at me. I waved at her feverishly to stop, as I didn't know what she could say.

Haruhi sighed and walked passed Yuki. Kyon rised his hand as if to say goodbye. I watched as he passed, waiting.

"Be careful," Yuki finally said, then she resumed walking in. I saw Kyon stop and look back, then when Haruhi called him he moved on. I hurried inside. As I stepped in, the world resumed being colorful again, and I was visible. Yuki was entering the elevator.

"Wait!" I said as I hurried over with the groceries. She turned back and watched as I stumbled onto the elevator with her.

"Yuki?" I asked as we were going up the elevator.

"What?"

"Do you know what just happened to me?"

"You moved yourself into another dimension that normal humans can't see."

"Like a Closed Space."

"Similar, yes."

Silence filled the elevator as I tried to figure out what had happened. What had triggered it? My analytical brain took over and I began to analyze what had happened. It seemed to me that it had been a purely instinctual move on my part. But I had never experienced this phenomenon before. It was strange to me.

I hypothesized that the Incident had something to do with awakening my powers, for lack of a better term. I wondered if it was Haruhi who opened that portal so that I might move through it. It certainly seemed possible.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice that I was in the apartment helping put away the groceries until we were almost done.

After we were done, I went to do my homework. I then remembered that tonight was the night that Itsuki was going to show Kyon what a Closed Space looked like.

_Time to try out my abilities_, I thought. I changed into something that would hide my identity, black pants, black shirt, a black fedora and a black trench coat. I covered my mouth with a black scarf.

I then rushed to my computer, opened it up and pulled up the scene depicting the crosswalk. I must admit, I was scared. I had no idea what I was doing. I focused hard on that spot, trying to will myself to somehow go to that Closed Space. After a few tries, I was ready to give up, but I decided to give it one more go. I closed my eyes and opened my mind. Suddenly, it was as if I could see a map of the city in my mind as clear as day. The map moved until it hovered over a circular region that was colored differently from the others.

I instantly found myself standing in the empty crosswalk. The mist from before surrounded me. I hid behind a car and waited. Soon I saw Itsuki step through the barrier and Kyon behind him. I watched from a distance as they had their conversation. I decided that now was the time to reveal the existence of Sliders to them.

"It's starting," I said, walking up and standing beside them.

They both turned in shock.

"Who are you?" Itsuki asked.

I turned, and the mist covered me. They backed up. "I am a last remaining member of the Sliders."

Kyon looked at me. "But…earlier…"

"A lie, to mislead the rogue Interfaces. I am the only one of my kind." I watched as the Shinjin appeared.

"I watch Haruhi from a distance," I continued

"Is that you, Cancian?" Kyon asked.

I turned "Why do you insist on painting Cancian as a Slider, Kyon?"

"Show us your face to prove it, then," Itsuki demanded.

"I will not," I replied, "because I trust none of you. I do not trust the Organization and I do not trust the time travelers."

"What about the Interfaces like Nagato?" Kyon asked.

"I trust her more than I trust you," I replied. Suddenly I felt a great power coursing through me. I backed up, raised my arm and the tornado energy from before came out of my hand and struck the Shinjin square in the head.

I walked back. "I have never seen a Closed Space vanish before. This could get interesting."

Just as it did in the show, the Closed Space began to disappear. After it did, the mist surrounding me vanished. The other two were staring at me in astonishment. I just winked and walked away. When I was sure no one could see me, I focused hard on Yuki's apartment and instantly I was in the living room, with Yuki on the couch, reading.

When I appeared, she looked up at me, and then looked back at the book.

I sat down and sighed. I had just discovered the legacy of the Slider.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally! A new chapter! I made some changes, like his name, which is now Jon Wunn Cancian, and his hometown, a fictional town called Darrows, Oregon, near the Three Sisters. Enjoy!<br>**

**morbiusgreen**


	5. Why Me?

The next day went by as usual. Classes were boring, and finally, Yuki and my teacher left early as she always did. Yuki and I headed to the clubroom in silence. As we walked in, she immediately took a seat next to a small circular table. I took a seat on the other side of her and pulled out a Sky and Telescope magazine from my backpack and began reading.

Thirty minutes later, Mikuru entered. I walked out and let her change. As she was changing, Kyon walked up.

"Yo," he said. I waved, not saying a word.

"Ok, I'm done now, Cancian," Mikuru said sweetly. I must admit, I liked being called by my last name more than my first.

Kyon and I went inside. I resumed my seat and continued reading.

"Hey, where's Haruhi?" I asked.

"She has cleaning duty," Kyon replied, taking a seat at the desk with the computer.

"I see." I watched as he turned on the computer. I went back to reading the Sky and Telescope, but kept a close eye on Kyon. I had to be sure that today was the day I was thinking of.

Sure enough, Mikuru walked over to Kyon with his tea and as she placed it down, she asked, "You working on anything important?"

Startled, I heard him make some rapid clicks with the mouse and stammer, "No, nothing!"

"Really? Hey what's this?" Mikuru asked again, pointing at the screen. I could almost hear Kyon think, "Gah! I'm screwed!"

"Why does that folder have my name on it, huh? C'mon, let me see, let me see, let me see!"

By this time both Yuki and I were watching in detached interest, or at least Yuki was. I was pretending to.

"Oh, this? Well, yeah, I wonder. It's probably nothing to worry about, though," Kyon replied, all the while with a nervous laughter.

"That sounds like a lie!" Mikuru giggled as she pressed herself against him, trying to grab the mouse from him.

"Miss Asahina, could you step back a little please?" Kyon begged. I could kinda guess why.

"Please let me look!" Mikuru pleaded as Kyon lifted up the mouse away from her. "Can't I see? Let me look C'mon, pleeeease?"

I turned to the door only moments before Haruhi burst in. "What do you two think you're doing?" she demanded. I turned back to see Kyon and Mikuru had stopped. Mikuru looked scared as she backed away from Kyon, who looked indignant. Yuki and I had on our indifferent faces.

"So, you're into maid, outfits, huh?" Haruhi asked in somewhat of an accusatory tone as she walked up to the table.

"What are you talking about?" Kyon asked.

"We're gonna change," Haruhi stated. At that, I stood and began walking out.

"Sure, fine with me," I heard Kyon say. At this point, I turned to him and said, "Kyon, you may want to leave. As in now."

"Why?" He asked. I didn't answer. I just walked out.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Haruhi did Mikuru's hair, Yuki and I read and Kyon and Itsuki played Othello. Soon, club was over and we had all returned home.

A few hours passed. Soon it was nighttime. I had changed and went to bed, not intending to interfere with the Closed Space incident. At approximately 10:47 P.M. I felt a bit nauseous again, but it was different.

"It must be the Closed Space," I said to myself. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. Suddenly, I began to hear a low humming sound, like a distant wind. I also seemed to be lying on something hard. I opened my eyes and to my surprise I found myself in the Closed Space, lying on the ground.

I sat up and, looking around, quickly saw Haruhi and Kyon. I hid and tried to Slide out, but somehow I couldn't see beyond the borders of the school. I looked back at the two who were now walking to the end of the school. I watched as they hit the barrier, which for some reason, I could see clearly. I then saw them run to the other end of the school. I then decided to approach them.

"This thing runs all around the perimeter of the school," I heard Kyon say as he touched the barrier.

"Does that mean we can't get out of here?" Haruhi asked in a panicked tone.

"Hey you guys! Wait for me!"

They both turned and saw me approaching. Haruhi hid behind Kyon but then came back out when she recognized me.

"Cancian! How did you get here?"

I reached them, out of breath. "I have no idea. I just found myself lying over there," and I pointed to where I had been lying down.

"Huh, odd," Kyon said.

Haruhi and I both looked at him inquisitively.

"C'mon," I said, "we should get inside."

Kyon nodded and led the way. Haruhi grabbed both Kyon's jacket and mine, which confused me.

"Well, if you're scared, just go ahead and grab our arms, why don't you? I'm sure it'll help get us in the mood," Kyon said when we had entered the school.

"Jerk," Haruhi replied.

"I agree. She may be weird, but c'mon, she is scared." I knew that would get a reaction from her. And I was right.

"I'm weird!" she stammered angrily.

I smiled and turned to her. "Haruhi, let's face it, by other's standards, you are weird, but not by mine."

"Hmph!" she answered.

At that moment, Kyon turned on a hallway light, grabbed a fire extinguisher and broke a window into one of the teacher office areas. I jumped in and opened the door.

Haruhi entered first and went for one of the phones. She picked it up and held the receiver to her ear.

"I can't get a dial tone," she said. I could hear the slight fear in her voice.

After that, we headed down the hall to one of the classrooms. Kyon turned on the light. Haruhi ran over to the window to look outside.

"Hey, Kyon, Cancian, look," she said. We walked over and stared out the window, which revealed a desolate, gray cityscape. No lights, no signs of life, no nothing.

"Where are we?" she continued. By then I could definitely hear the fear in her voice.

She hugged her arms around herself. "It's really weird." Kyon and I looked at each other.

We eventually headed to the clubroom, where Kyon began making tea.

"You thirsty?" he asked Haruhi when he had finished. She was staring out the window, a blank expression on her face.

"No thanks," she replied.

"Cancian? What about you?"

I had taken my seat and was reading a book. I raised my hand and shook my head, not looking away from the book.

"What's going on? What is this? I don't get it at all. Where are we? And why am I here anyway? And on top of all that, why am I alone with you two?"

"How should I know?" Kyon answered.

Haruhi turned and faced him. "I'm gonna look around," she exclaimed, and with a bit more determination in her voice, began to run off. Then she stopped, turned back to us and ordered us to stay put. "I'll be right back!" then she ran out. I was alone with Kyon.

"Are you ready to admit who you are now?" He asked me. I didn't respond.

"C'mon, Cancian, answer me!"

I didn't have to, as a strange noise was heard outside the window. I looked up and saw a red dot of light float up. It then transformed into a red silhouette of Itsuki.

Kyon went to the window and said, "Koizumi, is that you?" They then proceeded to have their conversation. It was practically identical up until the part where Kyon asked, "Then do you know what's going on, and are Haruhi, Cancian and I the only ones stuck in here?"

"Cancian's there too?"

I stood, walked over to the window and waved. "Hey there."

"You are a unique variable, just like Kyon. Most interesting. But anyway, the thing we've been afraid of happening all along is starting to happen right now."

I stood there and listened as they continued their conversation.

At one point in the conversation, I interrupted and asked, "Do you have any idea why we're the ones stuck in here with Haruhi?"

I could hear him smile. "You honestly have no idea why? I don't know about you, Cancian, but Kyon, you were chosen by Ms. Suzumiya." He then continued as he had in the original episode.

After Itsuki disappeared, I went to turn on the computer. Kyon took a seat a few seconds later. The messages between Kyon and Yuki were the same as they had been in the show.

I detected a few changes in the conversation, though. When Yuki was replying, she said, "I, as an individual, also feel a desire for you and Cancian to return."

I looked at Kyon, with a fake confused look on my face. "How does she know I'm here?"

"Because she's an alien," he replied.

"Uh huh, sure," I replied.

The conversation ended as it did in the anime. Suddenly the ground shook and the lights went out.

"What the…?" I said, staring out the window. Haruhi burst through the door a few seconds later.

"Kyon, Cancian! Something's here! What is it? A monster? It's not an illusion, is it?" she ran up to his side. "Maybe it's an alien!"

"Well, whatever it is, we should get out of here!" I said, beginning to panic for real now.

Kyon grabbed Haruhi's hand and we began to run. The Shinjin hit the building and we tumbled to the ground.

"Ok, I think it's trying to attack us!" I pulled up the other two. "Run!"

I ran beside the two while Kyon tried to convince Haruhi that the other world was better than this one. Finally Haruhi stopped in the middle of the field.

I watched them as they continued to talk. Then Kyon approached her.

I watched as they continued talking, then finally the moment of truth came. I watched with a smile as Kyon pulled Haruhi into a kiss. The world became distorted and I found myself back in my bed. Yuki was standing over me, staring at me.

"You were gone from this world for two hours and thirty minutes," she stated.

"Yep," I replied. "Hi."

She then turned and left the room.

"Yuki! Wait!"

She stopped and turned back.

"Don't tell Kyon that I was there. Even though I was, he can't know I was there. Make up something, like that he was an illusion that not even you could differentiate from reality or something."

"I see." She turned and began walking out. She stopped again, and I heard her say, "I am glad you are back," before leaving and closing the door.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling. "Glad to be back," I said to no one in particular, before drifting off to sleep.

The last question on my mind before I drifted off, was, "Why me?"

* * *

><p><strong>Who knows? Enjoy!<strong>

**morbiusgreen**


	6. Plains of Ragnarok

The next day I woke up very sick, so I skipped school. I spent the entire day vomiting and dry heaving when there was nothing left to expel. All in all, it was a boring day.

At the end of the day I got a call from Kyon. He accused me of being a Slider once again. I assured him that I was not. Unfortunately, during the conversation, one of the secrets I was trying to keep slipped out.

"_You're living with Yuki!_"

_Crap_, I thought. _Well, I may have to tell him I'm a Slider soon so I need to stall him until I can figure out how my abilities fully work_. "Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, yes, I am. As it turned out, the student picked for me to live with was Yuki. I just didn't want anyone to know because it could be taken the wrong way."

"_Cancian's living with Yuki!_" I heard the hyperactive voice of Haruhi exclaim in the background. I heard her take the phone forcefully from Kyon and shout, "_You better not do anything inappropriate with her! In fact, you know what; we're all coming over to make sure you don't. And to help you feel better_."

"_Haruhi, you can't just invite yourself over_," I heard Kyon say.

"_Yuki, is it alright with you?_"

I couldn't hear a response, but I assumed that she either said yes in a quiet tone or nodded.

"_Ok, we're leaving as soon as we get changed_."

"_What? Nooooo_!" I heard Mikuru squeal as the call ended.

Not much of interest happened when they arrived. They made soup for me, which helped me feel much better. They brought out a board game which we all played for a few hours. Then we watched a mockumentary on an alien invasion of planet Earth I had recommended earlier. By the end of the night, I was feeling much better.

"Well, it's late and we should let you sleep," Haruhi said after the movie ended.

"Thank you all for coming over," I said as they were leaving.

As Kyon left, he turned and glared at me. I waved and smiled back. Soon it was me and Yuki alone.

"Tomorrow, I need your help," I said to Yuki after I was sure everyone had left.

"Why?" she asked.

"Tomorrow I'm going to try and find how my Slider abilities work, and I need your help. I need your knowledge, expertise, and abilities."

"I see," she replied.

"So will you come with me?"

It took her a while to reply, but eventually she said, "The Data Integration Thought Entity has allowed it, in fact, it has made studying you a secondary mission."

"I see," I said, feeling a bit important. I then went to bed.

The next day was Saturday. I awoke and went to get ready, as I had completely recovered. I saw Yuki standing in the middle of the living room, dressed and staring at me.

"What are you just standing there for?" I asked.

"Waiting," she replied.

"I'll be finished and ready in about fifteen minutes," I said. I quickly went and changed into my Slider outfit. I equipped myself with a small knife, some sandwiches I had packed earlier, and other accessories.

"Yuki, I'm not sure if I can transport others, so I need to- Oh!"

She had grabbed my hand and was holding on with an iron grasp. I pulled her over to the couch and we sat down.

"Well, here goes nothing," I said. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the entire universe. Suddenly an infinite number of lines appeared before me. They went on forever. They were in constant motion, and constantly splitting off into new lines, which then split again.

I focused on one of them which seemed prominent, as the color of the line was greener than the rest. I zoomed in and saw a universe. I zoomed into Earth, which looked much different. I focused on the Americas, and I noticed that the northern portion had split at the Rocky Mountains.

I suddenly found myself on my back. Yuki was beside me, lying on the ground. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into a clear green sky.

I sat up and looked around we were in a desolate rock field. In the distant sky, I saw a large ringed planet. Below it, I saw the sun.

"Wow, this is fascinating," I stated as I stood.

"It is," Yuki concurred.

"Can you detect the Entity in this universe?" I asked.

She stared off into space and then nodded. "It knows we have come. Plus, there is another factor."

"What is it?" I asked.

Yuki didn't reply. She didn't have to. A band of hooded figures were riding up to us on horseback.

"Uh oh…" I said. I wanted to run, but Yuki didn't so I stayed there. Soon we were surrounded by the five strangers, who had drawn their swords and had pointed them at us. I raised my hand and motioned for Yuki to do the same. Their faces were covered so we couldn't see their faces

"What are you doing here?" a female voice demanded of us.

"I'm sorry for intruding," I began, but then I saw Yuki turn to another rider and begin using the bogus magic language. To my surprise, the other rider responded in kind. I watched in fascination.

My fascination turned to complete shock and slight horror when the rider removed their hood to reveal an exact duplicate of Yuki. No, it _was_ Yuki, just another version of her.

"They are not from the Imperium," the alternate Yuki said, "and this one," here she pointed at me, "is not our enemy."

The first rider nodded and removed their hood, motioning the others to do the same. I was even more surprised to see the other members of the S.O.S. Brigade.

"What is going on?" I asked.

The alternate Haruhi replied, "Quickly, get on." With that she snapped her fingers and two more horses appeared from out of nowhere.

I was frozen in place, startled at what just happened.

"Get on!" the alternate Haruhi repeated. She didn't have to tell me again, I was on that horse faster than you could say Jack Robinson. Yuki had gotten on the other horse.

"Follow me!" the alternate Haruhi ordered, and her horse began galloping off. I was quick to follow. I had taken some horse riding lessons every summer since I was ten, so I knew my way around a horse. We flew across the desolate landscape for what seemed like hours. Soon we arrived at a large rocky mountain. The alternate Haruhi snapped her fingers again, and a hole appeared in the side. We entered, she snapped again, and the hole disappeared and we were in total darkness. I heard a snap, and torches came on.

"Follow me," the alternate Haruhi ordered. We dismounted and followed her. We entered a large room with a stone table that reminded me of a conference table.

"Please, have a seat," the alternate Haruhi said. We did so.

"Do you want anything to eat?" she added.

I then realized that I had skipped breakfast, and I was very hungry. "Please, if you don't mind."

She nodded and snapped her fingers. Instantly a banquet appeared before us. Food hovered and was served to everyone in the room. She took a seat in a very ornate chair and fell to eating. The rest of us began to do the same.

"Now, to business," she said after we had finished. "Who are you, and how did you get into Pacifica?"

"Uh, I'm afraid that's difficult to explain." I then tried to explain who I was.

"I see. So, in another universe, there's another Haruhi like me, who is unaware of her powers, and she has surrounded herself with other versions of my advisors here," and she pointed to everyone in the room, "and you. I find everything you say believable except for the fact that you are part of this Brigade."

"Why?" I asked.

The alternate Kyon finally spoke up. "Because, in this universe, it is your alternate who is our enemy."

"I don't understand." The alternate Haruhi explained how, three years ago, she had discovered her powers. She had gathered an esper, time traveler, alien, and two normal humans to her, but one of the normal humans used her to take over the entire world except Pacifica, which included the continent we were on and the island of Japan. His name: you guessed it, Jon Wunn Cancian, evil emperor of the Imperium. He was not a Slider like me, but he now had half of Haruhi's power and that made him dangerous

"But…why…?" I asked after they had explained it to me. "Why would another version of me do something like that? Unless, unless his life was different from my own."

"It is possible," the alternate Yuki stated.

"Well, so this is why the other versions of you want to keep your alternates powers a secret from her, so no one can control her."

"Yes, but in the brief amount of time before this happened I helped the world advance faster than it ever could. We had colonies on the moons of our parent planet, and I had terraformed them with just a thought."

"Amazing," I said.

"It was, until your alternate used me to get angry enough to blow up every moon with human life on it. Then he made me give him half of my powers, and I can't get them back. Can you help?"

I leaned back in the chair and began to think. Some of the options I thought of were risky at best.

"Let me talk alone with Haruhi," I said after a while.

"That's Queen Haruhi to you," Kyon stated, a hint of resentment in his voice.

"My apologies. May I speak with you in private, Your Majesty?" I asked again, being very sincere.

She nodded, and everyone filed out, even Yuki.

"Can you seal this room to make it soundproof?" I asked. She snapped her fingers, and the door disappeared.

"Right, now, what if I brought help from another universe?" I said, "Perhaps in the form of your alternate?"

"Inadvisable," she answered. "You said she doesn't know she has powers, so what do you think her reaction would be if she was transported here? She may very well destroy my world as well as her own."

"I know, but what's life without a little risk?" I said with a smile. "Besides, I believe that she needs to be told what she is. She has a right to know. I mean, if it wasn't for my alternate, your kind might have been spread out through the whole galaxy. If you can handle it, so can she."

"I see." She began to pace the room, thinking.

"If trust is the issue, I can bring my Yuki back in and have her try and convince you that I am not your enemy. I am nothing like the person you described, and even though my abilities are new to me, I will try and learn more about them to help you. I swear it."

She turned to me and smiled. "That won't be necessary. I believe you, Cancian. Remember, I may not be as powerful as your Haruhi, but I am still pretty powerful. I looked into your mind and saw that you spoke the truth."

"Thank you," I replied with a bow. "I will bring not only my Haruhi, but everyone else. None of them except Yuki know what I am, and this will be the perfect opportunity to show them what I am."

"You do seem to have a flare for the theatric," she replied, looking at my attire.

I smiled. "Yea, I guess I do. I will return in a week's time."

"Not necessary," she said. "A Slider can not only Slide between universes, but into other dimensions, places and times. In essence, you can travel anywhere, anytime. So you could come back the minute you leave, but months could have gone by for you."

I was astonished. I had no idea that I could do so much.

"There's more," she continued. She went to a wall and snapped her fingers. A wall opened, and on the inside I saw a small glowing green rock. She picked it up and brought it to me. "This rock has no name, but it is essential for the life of a Slider. We have plenty of it in Pacifica, and it us useless to us, so when you return and establish yourself in a house, you may come and mine as much of it as you want from us. Providing we succeed, of course."

I took the rock and I could feel a slight pulsating rhythm pumping through my body. "What does it do?"

She smiled. "It can help you live for a much longer time than any normal human. What you are supposed to do is to crush the rocks in your hands and spread the dust of this rock through the foundations, ceiling and walls of the house. It will sink into them and become one with the structure, making it impenetrable. It will also send a certain type of wave through the entire house. If you leave for a year or so and return, the waves will interact with your unique body chemistry and reverse the aging process so that you will revert to the physical age and state you were in before you left, but not the mental state. This makes you practically immortal, but not invincible. The waves can only repair s much. They can't bring you back from the dead."

I was in so much shock that I was frozen. This was all too much for a fifteen year old to take in all at once.

Queen Haruhi laughed. "Don't worry, I can see in your mind that you will learn to adapt. You even have the curiosity and mental capacity of a Slider."

I smiled and blushed.

"It is the reason why you were shunned by everyone you knew back in your universe, even your parents and stepsister," she continued with a sad expression.

My spirits fell and I looked at the ground. "I know. I was weird."

"Cancian, you are not weird, if anything, you are very unique. Don't belittle yourself."

I was impressed. "You are much more mature than the Haruhi I know."

She suddenly looked at me sternly. "One has to mature in times of war."

"I understand." I bowed. "Well, this has been one interesting visit. I just hope I can find my current home universe."

"Look for a pure white line," Queen Haruhi replied. She then snapped her fingers and the doorway appeared again. Yuki was waiting, as was everyone else.

"C'mon, Yuki, let's go back. I've learned more than enough about my abilities for today," I said as we walked out. "Thank you, Your Majesty for helping me."

"Don't worry, Cancian, there's still more to discover, but I'll let you find that out for yourself."

I smiled and bowed again.

"Oh, and one more thing!" she said. She ran up to me and pretended to whisper into my ear, but I heard her voice inside my head.

I nodded after she had told me what to do. "Of course."

She smiled and waved at us. "Goodbye then!"

"Goodbye," I waved back, then took Yuki's hand and imagined the lines again. I saw the white line and zoomed in. I saw a red dot and headed to it. I saw Earth, then Japan. I found myself and Yuki back in her apartment.

I looked at the clock, and it read that only five minutes had passed. Queen Haruhi was right.

"I need to take a nap," I said, and I headed to my room and, without changing into PJ's, fell onto the bed.

Before I drifted off, I murmured, "We will meet again, Queen Haruhi, at the place you mentioned, the Plains of Ragnarok…"

* * *

><p><strong>Whoa...a chapter that had nothing to do with an episode of the anime! Major changes to come! Enjoy!<strong>

**morbiusgreen**


	7. Welcome to Drageroth

Sunday came and went without incident. I experimented with my abilities throughout the day, traveling to one universe after another. Yuki always accompanied me, as she wanted to observe. I discovered many aspects of my abilities; one was that I didn't always have to close my eyes to Slide. It was interesting to watch the scenery change ever so slightly every time I tried it. I was surprised how easily I caught on to how to use my abilities. By the end of the day, I was super tired, but super excited. I had seen some pretty amazing things. I also noticed that every new language I encountered was instantly translated for me after I head a few sentences of the language. I decided that if I ever got back home, I could use this new ability for financial gain and finally leave my parents' house.

A personal aside, my parents, whom I love deeply, didn't care about me at all. Even though they were the richest family in our small town, they didn't even bother to send a car to come get me (they had a few). They didn't marry for love, they married for money. I was basically a result of a drunken celebratory night and a broken, well, you get the point. As a result, they didn't care for me. They also wanted me to be a girl, if anything. That's why they tried again, and Nerokiva Shiva was born. She was treated like royalty and I was ignored even more. That was one of the reasons I turned to science. I was exceptionally good at every type of science and math, reaching a college level only a year before this adventure began. Of course, my parents were too busy doting on Nerokiva, who hated me more than my parents, to notice me.

But enough of this. Sunday night I slept very well. Nearly too well. I was almost late for class. I tuned out for most of the day, knowing most of what was being taught already. At the end of the day, we headed to the clubroom. Instead of reading, I rested my head on the table, still very tired. I had peace for thirty minutes, the only sound was that of Yuki turning the pages of whatever book she was reading.

I had to move when Mikuru came in to change, and I rested outside. Finally she was finished and I went back in. Kyon and Haruhi joined us later, as did Itsuki.

At one point, I was dozing off when I felt that weird falling sensation one feels before falling asleep and bolted awake, startling everyone except Yuki.

"Cancian? What is it?" Haruhi asked, clearly the most startled.

I panicked, but I wasn't sure why. I kept calm as a replied, "Nothing, I was just thinking and had a strange idea." My brain was racing to come up with a story to tell if they asked.

"What were you thinking about?" Kyon asked. _Damn!_

"Just thinking about time travelers, espers, aliens, sliders, Time Lords etc." _Where did that last one come from?_

"Time Lords? What are they?" Haruhi asked, excited.

I sighed and explained the basic plotline of Doctor Who to them. Haruhi sounded excited.

"Sounds like an interesting show!" Haruhi exclaimed. "As the Brigade Leader, I will go home and research this show."

"It's a very old show, but they recently started making new episodes last year. It's really brilliant! But, to get back on topic, I wasn't thinking mainly of that show."

"Then what were you thinking about?" Mikuru asked.

I finally had something. "A question for everyone here!" I stood forcefully and walked to the window. Then I turned and stared at them. Yuki had even stopped reading and ha given me her full attention.

"It's a question for everyone here. I will give you four choices of supernatural being, and out of those choices, I am curious as to what you would want to be."

Haruhi became even more excited. "What are the choices?"

I smiled. "If you could be an alien, time traveler, esper, or Slider, what would you be?"

Haruhi beamed, but I could see that the others had become more tense.

"If you don't want to answer, it's ok. It's just a simple game," I continued, but I had a feeling Haruhi would order everyone to answer. I was correct.

"Mikuru? What would you want to be?" I asked gently.

"Um…uh, let's see," she stammered.

"Take your time," I encouraged her.

"I guess, uh, that it would have to be a time traveler."

"I see," I said. "May I ask why?"

"I…I don't know…it just seems…uh…" I could tell she was having a panic attack and waved my hand.

"Forget the why. Itsuki? What about you?"

I thought I saw his smile falter, but it returned instantly. "Well, that is an interesting question indeed. I think that I would be an esper."

"They are also cool," I said. "Yuki?"

"Alien," she stated, still staring at me.

"I can understand that. Now, what about you, Haruhi? What do you want to be?"

"Hmmm, that is a toughie," she pondered. I could feel the tension rise in the room.

"I just want to be the first one to meet them."

"That wasn't part of the choices, but since you're the Brigade Leader, I'll let it slide. Kyon? You're up."

He sighed. "Don't bring me into this. I don't want to be any one of them."

_Here it comes_, I thought with slight amusement. Haruhi's smile disappeared and was replaced with a scowl.

"Kyon! As a member of the Brigade, I expect more enthusiasm from you! Why wouldn't you want to be any one of them?"

I felt the presence of many Closed Spaces forming nearby, so I decided to intervene. "Haruhi, it's ok. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. Try not to take this too seriously. After all, I was just asking an innocent question."

She calmed a bit, but the scowl didn't leave her face completely.

"What about you, Cancian?" Kyon asked out of the blue. I was expecting this, and had prepared a response.

"I will tell you at the end of the week."

"Ok," she replied without giving it another thought. I would have let her alone, but my plan wasn't complete yet.

"I always wondered what I would ask an alien, esper, time traveler, Slider or anything else. if I ever met them. There would be so much to ask."

Haruhi's eyes widened with excitement again.

"You just gave me an idea. New assignment, everyone!" She grabbed a piece of paper and tore it into four pieces. She then wrote down something on each of them, then tossed them in the air. The wind blew them around and they landed.

"Pick up the paper closest to you, everyone but Kyon," she said. We complied.

"Open them!" she commanded. We did. Mine said "Slider." I stifled a laugh.

"Tell me what you have," she ordered.

As I suspected, Itsuki got esper, Yuki got alien, and Mikuru got time traveler.

"Your assignment this week is to come up with as many questions as you can to ask those types of beings, so that when we meet them we will not look like fools."

I smiled. "Awesome!"

"What about me?" Kyon asked.

Haruhi smiled evilly. "You'll find out," she said. Kyon gulped, and then glared at me. I just ignored him. On the inside I was laughing. Friday was going to be even more interesting than she could even imagine. The room was silent for the rest of the day.

"You took a great risk today," Yuki said as we were walking home.

I nodded. "Yes, I did. It was a bit of harmless fun. Haruhi wouldn't have destroyed the world because of it. In fact, she might have even enhanced all your abilities because of it."

Yuki kept walking "I see." Not another word was said for the remainder of the night.

I received another surprise after I fell asleep. Apparently, the dream realm is another dimension which I could enter at will. However, this first incident was a happy accident.

I found myself in a strange place, somewhere I had never been before. Somehow I knew that it was a real place, and it felt familiar. The reason I knew I was in another person's dream? I still don't know. I somehow had complete control over my mental faculties.

I suddenly heard someone walking up behind me. I turned and saw Haruhi in casual clothes walking down the street.

"Cancian? What are you doing here?" she asked when she saw me.

"Well, I asked Yuki to show me around the city and we got separated."

I suddenly had a wild and reckless idea. I somehow knew that I could make images appear and disappear in this dream almost as if it were my own.

"Well, as Brigade Leader, it is my duty to help you find your way home," she replied. "Come with me!" I did so and fell into step with her, but was constantly on the lookout for a perfect place to try my plan.

Finally, we came to a large intersection. I focused, and created the two images I wanted. As we were turning, my eyes widened and I pulled Haruhi back.

"Hey, wha-?"

"Shhh!" I took another peak. I smiled a little bit. There, walking down the street, were Mikuru and Kyon, hand in hand.

I turned back. "I think Kyon and Mikuru are on a date!"

Haruhi became red and looked at them.

"Quiet, let's follow them and see what happens." I grabbed Haruhi's arm and dragged her along, hiding from the images of Mikuru and Kyon. I made the images go into a movie theater, then they came back out. It was only a few seconds later, but to Haruhi's dream mind, it was as if two hours had passed. We followed them to a park, where they sat and watched the sunset. "Kyon" turned to "Mikuru," who looked back. Their lips moved in closer, and soon they were kissing.

By this time Haruhi was consumed with rage. I could feel the weight of it. I decided enough was enough and I dissolved the world until it was just me and Haruhi in a pure white room.

"Take these images to heart," I instructed Haruhi. "Think about the images you have seen."

"Why?" she asked, still clearly furious.

"Because, even though you claim to have no need for romantic sentiments, it would seem that your reaction to the scenario I devised was one of jealousy. Think about it, Haruhi Suzumiya. In the real world as well as in your dreams, think about why this bothers you. Think long and think hard." The dream world began to collapse. I waved. "We will meet again, on the Plains of Ragnarok!"

I woke up at that. It was the middle of the night, but I felt another presence in the room.

"Yuki, wha-?"

I couldn't finish my sentence as a cloth was placed over my face. I recognized the smell of chloroform. Mentally I smiled. What they didn't know was that I was immune to the effects of that particular anesthetic. I pretended to go limp. I was bound and a bag was placed over my head.

"Quick, let's go," I heard a voice, which sounded suspiciously like Itsuki's, whisper, "before the Interface realizes what is going on." I was picked up and carried out of my room.

I wasn't sure how I was going to escape without revealing my chloroform immunity, or Slider abilities.

They carried me outside and down the elevator quietly. When the elevator door opened, I felt the person who was carrying me jump slightly.

"Abort mission!" the same voice as before said. I was dropped violently and I heard footsteps fleeing the scene. As those footsteps were fleeing, I heard some light footsteps approach me. I felt small but strong hands untie the bonds and take off the bag.

"Thank you, Yuki," I said as I sat up. She stepped into the elevator, pressed the button for our floor and the door closed. She said nothing as we re-entered the apartment, but went straight to the couch and resumed reading.

The rest of the week the SOS Brigade didn't meet because Haruhi was dragging Kyon all over the city as punishment. The rest of us were busy with homework and coming up with the list Haruhi had assigned us.

Finally Friday came. The day before I had told Haruhi that I wanted to perform a séance and that it was a good idea to be in casual clothes. She ordered everyone to pack clothes for that day. I packed my Slider clothes, plus a sword Yuki had created for me.

After school, we went to the clubroom. Everyone except me was in casual clothes.

"Why haven't you changed yet?" Haruhi asked.

"I will soon," I replied. "but first I want to hear the lists."

Haruhi nodded and told everyone to read them. I listened to everyone's list. All in all, they were amateur at best. At the end, Haruhi declared mine the best.

"Now," I said, "I must go and change. You guys should prepare the room by darkening it." I then left.

When I came back, the room was pitch black except for a few candles. I expected some kind of reaction to my garb and I did see Kyon and Itsuki react. I, however, sat down.

"Okay, everyone, grab hands and close your eyes," I said. Without a word, they did so.

Here was the moment of truth. "Okay, before we begin, I have to tell you all something about my list."

"What about it?" Haruhi asked.

I closed my eyes and found the other universe. "Do you wonder how I came up with those questions?"

"Tell us," she said.

"Those are the exact questions," I said, "that I have about my Slider abilities!" My voice had increased in volume as I had said that. I found the alternate version of Earth and focused on it. It was more difficult than I thought it would be, but I eventually succeeded.

Everyone but me and Yuki found themselves sprawled on the rocky ground. A low howl could be heard. The sun hovered high in the green sky, as did the gas giant this earth orbited.

Everyone was looking at me, a mixture of terror and fury in their faces. I simply smiled.

"Welcome to Drageroth."

* * *

><p><strong>How will Haruhi react to this new world? How will she react to the secrets of the Brigade? What about their alternates? Tune in next time!<strong>

**morbiusgreen**


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